


The Secret of the Ring

by EldritchSandwich



Category: Tomb Raider & Related Fandoms, Tomb Raider (Video Games)
Genre: Adventure, Canon-Typical Violence, Chunky Sandwich, Established Relationship, F/F, Gen, Plot Twists, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-23
Updated: 2019-04-23
Packaged: 2020-01-24 07:06:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18566398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EldritchSandwich/pseuds/EldritchSandwich
Summary: Sam and Lara head off on a quiet holiday to the Swiss Alps...or so they think. Someone is on Lara's trail, seeking a mysterious artifact that will change their lives forever.





	The Secret of the Ring

"No, nothing yet."

The man leaned back in the driver's seat, slumped down to look like he was sleeping. To anyone who noticed the car under the shadow of the alley at all, it would look like just another London cabbie catching a quick nap between fares. In reality, though, his eyes remained fixed on the jeweler's shop across the street. He'd been staking it out for hours and was starting to lose hope; none of the others were having better luck, and if they were wrong the trail would have gone too cold to change tactics. He sat up with a sigh and reached for his radio, only to freeze as he caught sight of the woman walking into the jeweler's. No, it couldn't be...could it?

"This is Position 1, stand by, I might have something."

He grabbed his binoculars and focused on the door; there was too much glare on the windows, but the glimpse he'd gotten definitely looked like her. Less than two minutes later the door opened again, and there she was: the athletic young brunette turned and nodded to the jeweler through the open door, and as she turned away slipped a small box covertly into the inside pocket of her leather jacket. The man in the car smirked.

"I have a target. Package has changed hands." His eyes narrowed as they followed the young woman down the street. "Confirm: package is in the possession of Lara Croft."

* * *

"Lara, is that you?" Sam stepped onto the landing surrounding the manor's front hall as Winston shut the door behind her. "About time," she said as she jogged down the stairs. "We're gonna be late to the airport."

"Thank you, Winston. We are not going to be late," Lara added as she leaned in to press a kiss to Sam's lips. "I'll have you know I've never been late for a flight in my life."

Sam smirked. "Does that include if you got into a firefight at the airport?"

Lara gave her a tart smile. "That was a privately-owned airstrip, not an airport, and you know it."

Sam shook her head and kissed her again, longer and deeper, her hands sliding up to Lara's neck. "God, I'm looking forward to this."

"Me too. I talked to Jonah, he and Abby will be coming up Monday, so for the first two days it's just going to be the two of us. No distractions, no family drama..."

"No work," Sam added pointedly, and Lara smiled.

"No work. No ruins, no artifacts, no life or death, I promise. Just you and me in a beautiful Swiss chalet, snuggling by a roaring fire..."

"Mmm, I'm getting warm already..."

Sam leaned in for another kiss, her hands sliding down Lara's flanks, only for Lara to catch her wrists with a smirk.

"Now who's making us late?"

Sam shook her head as Lara turned to grab her duffel bag and Sam's roller suitcase from the base of the stairs. "Goodbye Winston!" Sam waved at the fondly-smiling butler as he opened the door.

"Goodbye, my ladies. Have a splendid holiday."

"Thank you, Winston, we'll see you Saturday!"

As the two young lovers raced down the drive toward the car, Winston shook his head and smiled.

* * *

"My god, look at it! It's like it goes on forever..." As she drove their rented truck up the winding, narrow road, Lara couldn't help but let her gaze follow Sam's. The Alps truly were breathtaking, the white-capped peaks and slopes stretched across the horizon giving way to hazy green valleys far below them. Sam shook her head in wonder. "I don't think I've ever seen that much snow..." Lara just nodded, and Sam turned toward her, eyebrows furrowing. "Lara? Is everything okay?"

"Yes, of course. I just...I guess I haven't seen anything like it since..."

As she trailed off, Sam winced. "Kitezh," she muttered, as if saying it any louder would just make things worse. "I'm so sorry, sweetie, I didn't even think—"

"No." Lara reached across the console and took Sam's hand. "No, that's part of why we're doing this. I...I want to replace all my bad memories with good ones."

Sam smiled. "And I want to help." She raised Lara's hand in hers, laying a gentle kiss across the back. Lara smiled back, then cleared her throat.

"Anyway. Wait until you see the view from the chalet. I'm told it's breathtaking."

Sam grinned. "I can't wait."

* * *

Farther down the mountain, another truck was making the ascent. They didn't have to worry about tailing Croft and risking being seen; she'd grown so sloppy that one of their men had been able to slip into her compound and plant the tracker right under her nose. As they followed the steady pulse, their leader smiled.

This was going to be almost too easy.

* * *

"Holy shit!" Sam turned from the huge floor-to-ceiling windows of the chalet, an equally huge grin on her face. "This is amazing! Look at it, have you ever seen anything so gorgeous?"

Lara smiled as she slid up behind her, wrapping her arms around Sam's waist and leaning over her shoulder to gaze out at the mountains around them. While there had been heavy snowfall for the last few days the sky was momentarily clear, enough so that the sunset had turned the icy peaks into pyramids of burning gold. "It's incredible," Lara breathed. "And I'd like you to know that I'm fighting the urge to make a terribly cliched comparison between the view's beauty and yours, even though you perfectly set me up for it..."

Sam groaned. "Oh, what? No, I want my cliched romantic comedy moment! Come on, I'll set it up again, I'll give you an easy one!" She looked up at Lara, eyelashes fluttering insistently. "I've never seen anything so beautiful..."

Lara sighed. "All right, fine." She gazed down at Sam, lips parted, their faces inching closer and closer. "Funny. I was just thinking the same thing..."

Lara leaned in for a kiss, only for Sam to explode into a fit of giggles. "Omigod, that was terrible!"

"You see, I told you..."

"We shouldn't have forced it," Sam gasped between laughs. "I'm so sorry, I'm a terrible person."

Lara chuckled and tightened her arms, pressing a kiss against Sam's hair as she did. They watched the rest of the sunset in silence, warm and gently rocking in each other's embrace, until the stars began to emerge and Lara squeezed Sam's waist.

"Come on. We can stargaze later tonight. For now we'd better see to dinner." Sam nodded and accepted Lara's hand as she strolled across the open floor of the chalet, toward the kitchen pressed against the back wall. "Unfortunately we don't have access to Jonah's cooking quite yet, so we might have to settle for a few days of macaroni cheese and beans on toast..."

Sam chuckled. "Gosh, it feels like we're back in college."

"Mm, with one notable exception." Lara leaned over the kitchen island for a kiss that Sam smiled into.

"Mm, you know I think if you'd worked up the nerve to do that back in college we'd both be a lot better off..."

Lara grinned. "Well, since we're walking down memory lane, why don't we just pretend we're back in school; I'll make macaroni cheese from a box, we'll drink too much wine, you'll complain about some disappointing boy you're seeing, but then this time instead of just fantasizing about it I'll jump on top of you and pin you to the couch..."

Sam giggled. "About time. I mean, that's the only reason I complained."

Lara just smiled, but it quickly turned from loving to uneasy. "Sam...I have a con—"

And as if they could sense Lara's change in tone and were trying to oblige, that was the moment all the lights went out.

"Shit!" Sam blinked, trying to make out more that Lara's silhouette; there was no moon, just the faint starlight coming through the windows. Before her eyes could adjust to the near-total darkness there was a flash of light; when she blinked again and saw Lara holding up her phone, she winced sheepishly and pulled out her own. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Lara said, but she was already pulling on her boots and grabbing her jacket from the back of the kitchen chair. "Just stay here. The generator's out back, I'll go check on it."

"Okay. Be careful."

Lara shot her a smile, then headed toward the back door.

Fortunately, the snow up against the side of the chalet wasn't too deep thanks to its long eaves; the path to the generator, which was confined to a sort of lean-to on the outer wall to minimize noise, was clear enough to make decent time. When Lara reached the shed, she frowned. The door wasn't as tightly shut as she'd been expecting, and when she pulled it open the generator hadn't overloaded or blown a breaker or run out of fuel...it looked like it had simply been switched off. She leaned down to switch it back on, and that was when she felt it.

Lara's entire body tensed just moments before a heavy arm wrapped around her neck. Her hands shot up to try to pry open the chokehold, but it was clear that her opponent had a considerable weight advantage. Well, Lara thought as her brutal instincts snapped into place, all the better to use it against him. She planted her toes in the slick snow and rotated her feet; when her entire body weight followed, the man behind her let out a yelp of surprise as he lost his footing and slipped backward into the deep snow. He pulled Lara with him, of course, but she was already using the momentum to bring the back of her head down hard. Her reward was a dull crack and a squeal of pain, and she immediately lifted her head and slammed it down again, and again; after the third blow, the arm around her throat went slack.

Lara scrabbled to her feet, turning around to face her attacker; he was Southeast Asian, his broad build obvious even under his parka. The glazed eyes and the blood gushing from his shattered nose suggested she didn't have to worry about him getting up anytime soon.

Lara's head snapped back toward the house as she heard a clatter, then a shriek of fear: Sam! She bolted for the door, only belatedly realizing how stupid it was when the man with his own arm around Sam's neck turned his gun from Sam to the figure in the doorway.

"Lara, look out!"

Lara scrambled for cover, dropping behind the narrow end of the island as the man tightened his grip on Sam's throat and barked something at her in what Lara was fairly certain was Burmese. Not that knowing what language he was speaking improved matters.

"Let her go!" The man didn't budge, and Lara cursed under her breath. Well, if they just wanted her dead, she reasoned, the man outside would have just shot her in the back. She raised her hands over the edge of the island and stood up after them...just in time to see Sam's eyes go wide.

"Lara, behind you!"

Lara spun on her heel just in time to dodge the grip of the man behind her, bringing her head up under his chin with a sharp clack. As the man with the gun twisted toward her Sam bit down on his arm, followed by a sharp heel to the shin that made him loosen his grip in pain; Lara turned from her dropping opponent just in time to watch Sam grab the saucepan off the stove top and smash it across the gunman's face. As he dropped, Lara made a dive for the gun; by the time the man she'd headbutted was back on his feet, it was just in time for a pistol whip to send him back to oblivion.

Lara turned back just in time for Sam to tumble into her arms, squeezing hard and shaking with adrenaline. "Oh my god, Lara..."

"It's okay. We're fine."

"Who are these guys?"

"I don't know, but we have to get out of here." She grabbed Sam's hand and began to tug her toward the front door. "They might have done something to our vehicle, we'll have to take theirs. Then when we're down the mountain we can contact—"

"Stop."

Lara whirled toward the stairs, gun trained on the shadowed figure whose own pistol was pointed at her. The man stepped into the light, and Lara frowned; he was middle-aged, Burmese, and dressed in black like the others. Her first thought was that he was Trinity, some kind of holdout or sleeper, but it had been over a year since she'd seen any trace of them. All she really knew about this man was that she'd never seen him before. "Who are you?"

"Agent Thant Thura. With Interpol."

"Bullshit. Show me a warrant."

The man smirked. "I'm currently operating in an...unofficial capacity. As a member of the Sacred Brotherhood of Pyu."

"Never heard of it. What do you want with me?"

"Simple. I want the ring."

Lara stiffened. "Wh...what are you talking about, what ring?"

"The Ring of Beikthano. I know you have it, probably on your person."

"Lara, what is he talking about?"

"I don't know, I...wait. Pyu, Beikthano...you're talking about the city-states of ancient Burma."

"Yes. Five great cities, each entrusted with an ancient jade ring. Together, they would have the power to reshape reality."

"Of course they would," Sam mumbled under her breath.

"I don't know why you've aided the thief who stole the ring, but I'm giving you one chance: return it now, and you will not be harmed." He glanced sidelong at Sam, a knowing smirk on his face. "Either of you."

"Look," Lara said through gritted teeth, "I don't have this ring of yours, so just—"

"Bullshit, as you say. We tracked the thief to London, then placed eyes on all known fences...only for the infamous tomb raider Lara Croft to walk right in to one of them."

Lara winced, and Sam's eyes narrowed. "Lara?"

"I watched you place the ring into the pocket of that very jacket." He flicked the gun toward Sam. "Would you like to see if it's still there, Miss Nishimura?" Sam glared at him, but he just gestured with the gun. "Please. I insist."

Lara flinched as Sam's hands patted her flanks. "This is stupid," Sam muttered. "I don't know what you think you're going to..." Sam stopped cold as her hand slid up Lara's left side. Sam's eyes rose up to meet hers with a look of dawning horror, and Lara winced.

"Sam, wait—" When Sam pulled back, a simple black ring box in her hand, Lara's eyes went wide. "Wait, Sam, let me explain..."

"Explain what?" Sam asked sharply. "'No work'? 'No artifacts, no life or death'?

"Give me the box."

"Sam, wait, don't—"

"Unbelievable, Lara, I actually thought—"

"Just hand me the ring and—"

"No wait Sam I—"

Sam opened the box. Her eyes went wide. When she looked up at Lara, hands shaking, Lara's eyes dropped to the floor. "Lara? What is this?" She tipped the box toward Lara...revealing the simple white gold band and the marquise-cut diamond atop it. "Is this...an engagement ring?"

Lara's shoulder's slumped, eyes cutting toward the suddenly awkward-looking Thant Thura. "Well. I hope you're happy now." Without quite lowering her gun, Lara forced her eyes up toward Sam. "Yes. Yes, it's an engagement ring. It's not an ancient Burmese magical artifact," she said with another sidelong glare at their uninvited guest, "and it's not a...a Croft family heirloom that's inevitably going to turn out to be the missing key to some Medieval secret society's puzzle lock, or something." Sam chuckled. "It's just a normal diamond ring I bought in a shop. Because...because loving you is the one blessedly normal thing in my ridiculous life, and...I want it to be like that forever."

Sam clasped the box between her fingers, tears shining in the corners of her eyes. "Lara..."

"Samantha Nishimura, will you—"

"What are you kidding me? Yes!" Sam shot forward, arms wrapped around Lara's shoulders and lips claiming hers. When she pulled back, she was crying. Lara reached for the box with her free hand, racing to fumble the ring onto Sam's finger, only to remember why exactly she only had one hand free when the man on the other end of her gun awkwardly cleared his throat. The two women turned to watch him drop his pistol with a sheepish wince.

"I should really..." He glanced at Lara. "Are my men..."

"They'll live." When his eyebrows rose in surprise, Lara smirked. "I don't know much Burmese, but I did recognize the word 'thief.' It made me assume you thought you were on the right side, so I might as well give you a chance to explain yourselves."

Thant Thura coughed. "Yes. Well..."

"I'll reach out to some of my contacts, see if I can't help pick up the trail of your thief."

He slipped his gun into his shoulder holster and pulled an Interpol business card from his jacket pocket. "I...appreciate your assistance, Lady Croft. It is...most generous, considering the circumstances."

"Mm. Well all the same I hope you'll understand if we don't invite you to the wedding."

To their shock, Thant Thura laughed. "Well then. I will...let you two celebrate. Lady Croft. Miss Nishimura." Thant Thura bowed gently, then turned toward the kitchen to collect his groaning compatriots, only to pause and smile back over his shoulder. "Mazel tov."

As he picked up his men and ushered them out the back door, Lara turned to Sam and shook her head. Sam could only laugh.

* * *

"To the happy couple!"

"To the happy couple!" Abby echoed Jonah's toast with an enthusiastically raised wine glass, and once she'd taken a healthy swig she set it down and reached across the table for Sam's hand to get a closer look at the ring. She shook her head. "Wouldn't you know, we leave you alone up here for two days and we miss all the excitement!"

Sam chuckled. "Oh yeah, well, you know Lara. Excitement tends to follow wherever she goes..." Lara gave her a tart smile and a bump with her hip, and Sam grinned. "And I wouldn't have it any other way," she added under her breath.

Lara smiled, then huffed gently as Jonah's bulky arm pulled her into a hug. "I'm so happy for both of you, Little Bird," he said with a grin. "Of course I've been waiting for this day ever since the first time I saw the two of you together..." Sam and Lara groaned, and Jonah laughed. "No, seriously, I knew from the beginning. I've got a sixth sense for this kind of thing."

"Not to question your gifts, Jonah," Lara said with a smirk, "but I think that's just one of the normal five. Apparently we were being so obvious that anyone would have seen it."

"Well, I know I was," Sam muttered archly, then leaned in to soothe Lara's pout with a kiss. Abby chuckled, then took another sip of her wine.

"Mm, so. What else did we miss? Any avalanches we should know about? Ancient prophecies unfolding? Bear attacks?"

Jonah chuckled. "Yeah, what other kinds of mischief did you two get up to without us?"

Sam and Lara shared a conspiratorial smile. "Oh, you know," Sam said, "just the usual."


End file.
